


Chasing the Spark

by SharkSmirk



Category: Transformers (Bay Movies), Transformers - All Media Types, Transformers: Robots in Disguise (2015)
Genre: (spoilers) also convinient that he has a mouth, Bee remembers his friendship with Charlie she's no actually in this, Canon Crossover, F/M, Mikaela deserved better and i'm setting the record straight, Post-Canon, mixing movies and RID continuity cuz i really love what RID did with Bee, still a better love story than "Pearl Harbour"
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-13
Updated: 2020-11-13
Packaged: 2021-03-09 21:48:27
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 7,246
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27543352
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SharkSmirk/pseuds/SharkSmirk
Summary: Ten years after she left Sam (and the Autobots), Mikaela Banes gets an unexpected visitor and discovers that the spark is still alive.
Relationships: Bumblebee & Charlie Watson, Mikaela Banes/Bumblebee
Kudos: 13





	1. Midnight Runners

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "A friend in need is a friend in deed" - if only he could figure out how to ring the damn doorbell.

He was grateful that the roads were empty this late at night, so that he could get where he was going as fast as possible. The sharp pain in his side was getting worse - according to his system diagnostics he wasn’t seriously compromised, but that didn’t change the fact that his non-critical injury still hurt like hell.

And all he wanted was some time on his own to clear his head. As much as he loved his ragtag team of rookies, after spending 20 years alone on Earth, he noticed feeling overwhelmed after being around others for too long. Unfortunately, he didn’t really think about how driving alone down empty roads, far away from his team, made him vulnerable to enemy attacks: not watching out for rogue Deceptacons - even on Earth - was simply reckless. He really should have known better. At least he dealt some serious damage (the Decepticon will most likely have to go into stasislock soon), but was still disappointed they managed to get away.

Just a little further. He couldn’t help but notice how much the city had changed in the past 10 years - what used to be garages and grocery shops were now fancy restaurants and health stores. Thankfully he knew her dad’s workshop was still in the same place, though she was the one who seemed to be running it now. He found her website a few years ago: she specialised in the restoration of classic cars, and luckily for him the address was still the same the last time he checked.

He didn’t know if she had a family or not; generally he had a rule of keeping away from people with families, because he knew his presence carried a certain risk with it. Yes, the war was over and the main Decepticon leaders were all defeated but, as the searing pain in his side reminded him, it was still not the time to completely let down his guard.

_As he waits at a red light and tries to remember where he needs to turn right next, Charlie creeps back into his mind. He remembers driving to Brighton Falls somewhere in the mid 90s and seeing Charlie there: she was still his Charlie, but older, more mature, more confident. She was running after a little boy - probably no older than 3 - when a man caught him and picked him up, and gave Charlie a kiss. He wasn’t sure how to feel about it: he was so glad to see her happy, but at the same time a sadness washed over him knowing that she had, in a way, outgrown him._

A car horn brings him out of his musings - the light has turned green, and he’s holding up probably the only car he’s seen on the road the whole evening. His holographic driver gives a little “thank you” wave (he’s really not in the mood to deal with road-rage), and he drives off, burying the memory somewhere deep in the back of his mind. He can’t think about Charlie now or he’s going to lose his nerve.

Finally, her workshop appears as he turns a corner, and he thanks his lucky stars that the lights are on. Which still leaves one problem to solve: how is he going to ring the damn doorbell?

* * *

It was almost midnight when she walked through the doors of her apartment, conveniently located atop the workshop. She kicked off her pumps with a sigh of relief and shook a copious amount of glitter out of her hair; whoever said women were the gentler sex had never encountered a bachelorette party in full swing, armed with alcohol and penis-shaped pastries. It was better to bail before things got out of control and one of the annoyed neighbours called the police - if she never saw a cop again, it would be too soon.

She opened the fridge and was greeted by a half-eaten slice of chocolate cake, a few stray grapes still clinging to the stem, and a load of diet soda cans stuffed into the vegetable drawer. Staring at the mostly empty shelves, she absentmindedly picked off a few grapes before grabbing a soda can and shutting the fridge. After a few minutes of spelunking between the cushions, she found the TV remote and plopped down onto the couch belly-first. It was already late but the party-adrenaline was still in her system, so there was no chance of her falling asleep anytime soon. The TV prompted her if she wanted to continue “Vampire Diaries” from where she last left off, and after clicking OK she popped open the soda can, which instantly bubbled over her fingers and onto the cushions. Oh well, that’s why she drank diet soda - no sticky residue to clean off when she inevitably spilled it.

The video started playing and she had no idea what was going on - wasn’t the main chick dating the _brother_ of the guy she was currently kissing? - but she felt a little rush of excitement when she realised it was one of the smutty episodes. The main characters had just stopped waxing poetic about how they can’t live without each other (aren’t vampires immortal anyway?) and were about to get down and dirty, when some idiot laid on their car horn right in front of her apartment. She paused the show with a frustrated groan and walked over to the intercom. When the picture came on, there was nobody there - she could only see a faint outline of a car a few meters from the workshop. Figures - asshole couldn’t even get out of his car to ring the doorbell like a normal person.

“We’re closed! Come back tomorrow morning or call roadside assistance!” _You dickhead_.

She was on her way back to the couch when the honking started again. Well now she was furious. She clicked the speaker button on the intercom, ready to give this guy a piece of her mind, when she noticed that the car was now driving in front of her workshop on only two wheels. The intercom screen was black-and-white so she couldn’t see the colour of the car, but it had two dark racing stripes running from the hood to the trunk.

_No, it couldn’t be._

Picking up her keys and haphazardly jumping into a pair of boots, she ran down to her workshop and flung the garage doors open as fast as she could. The car quickly drove into the garage and a moment later the familiar sound of whirring and buzzing could be heard as it opened up and transformed.

“Hey, Miki. Long time no see.”

He tried to get up, but the sharp pain got worse so he decided to remain in a seated position. Mikaela was just staring at him in shock, not saying a word.

“I’m really sorry about this, Mikaela, I didn’t know where else...”

Before he could finish the sentence, she ran up to him and threw her arms around his neck in a strong hug.

“Oh my god, Bumblebee! I thought I’d never see you again!”

Bumblebee chuckled and leaned into the hug, putting a hand on her back.

“It’s good to see you too, Miki.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Quick notes:
> 
>   * English is not my native language so sorry if some things sound "off" - also I speak 2 other languages so which grammar rules I will be using today is a gamble
>   * I know switching tenses is supposed to be a no-no but I think it works here
>   * I'm using RID Bumblebee in this but feel free to imagine whatever Bumblebee incarnation you like best here
>   * I've never actually watched Vampire Diaries on my own, but whenever I saw it with my mates I had a blast
>   * *subtly dunks on gentrification*
>   * "bachelorette party" aka "we call them 'hen dos' over here"
>   * working title was "there is a spark that never goes out" but maybe that's too corny even for me
> 



	2. No Fire Without a Spark

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> As Mikaela helps Bumblebee with his injury, their conversation touches upon some wounds from the past.

After the initial shock of seeing him, then the shock of realizing he was hurt, Mikaela was now rummaging through her tool shelves and trying to remember lessons on Autobot anatomy she got from Ratchet. Bee had propped himself up so he was sitting with his back against the wall, and was surveying the garage while he waited for her to gather everything she needed. It looked much nicer than he remembered it: it was definitely cleaner, with no stray oil-spots on the floor and metal parts strewn about, and the vehicles she was working on looked way more expensive than the ones her dad would repair. He could see a couple of BMW motorcycles, and a restored ‘76 black-and-gold Pontiac Firebird - Bee wasn’t exactly a car geek, but his mission did require him to familiarize himself with Earth vehicles. As for Mikaela, she still looked pretty much the same, with vivid blue eyes and long black hair she would tie back every time there was work to do. Though he could see subtle changes in the way she carried herself, how clear her voice was when she spoke, and how she was no longer trying to disappear into her shoulders when nobody was watching. 10 years was a long time, after all. Especially for a human.

“How about some music, Bee? I have just the playlist for you!” Mikaela turned on the radio and ‘Just What I Needed’ by The Cars started playing. 

" _I don't mind you comin' here, and wastin' all my time..._ ” Bee was tamely singing along with the lyrics, moving his head from side to side - the only part of him he could move without being in pain.

“You should try listening to something a little more recent, Bee, you might like it.”

“Do people no longer listen to this type of music?”

“Actually,” Mikaela stopped to think, “it’s been long enough for synth music to be cool _again_. Your time has come, Bee!”

She finally packed everything she needed into a toolbox, picked up a chair, and walked back to him.

“I should have known that if you ever walked through my doors again, it would be with some part of you blown off. Where there’s Sparky, there’s fire - as always.”

Bumblebee couldn’t help laughing. “Nobody’s called me that in forever.”

“Good, because I claim full copyright on that one. Both on Earth _and_ Cybertron. Anyway, let’s see what we have here.”

Pointing a flashlight at the gash in his side, Mikaela carefully put her fingers inside to see what was going on. For a moment she was expecting to feel cold metal under her fingertips, but was instead reminded of how much internal heat he generated - not as much as a human, but the machinery and electronics running under the outer hull kept him pleasantly warm to the touch. After examining his injury for a few minutes, she was glad to see it wasn’t as bad as she initially thought.

“Well, Sparky, it’s good news: you just have two exposed wires that got tangled together. I’m guessing that’s why it’s not healing. Let me just...”

The moment she separated the wires, his pain almost disappeared and he gave a sigh of relief.

“Oh bots, Mikaela, you’re my favourite person in the world right now!”

She cocked an eyebrow. “Which world?”

“ _All_ of them.”

“Good answer, Bee.” She gave him a little wink. “Though there’s still a lot of metal shards floating around, I think it’s better if I take them out just to be on the safe side.” 

She took out a pair of large metal tweezers from her toolbox and got to work. “It’s still a pretty big gash, Bee. How big was this Decepticon anyway?”

Bee put on his best dramatic voice. “Probably about 3 feet taller than me. Twice as wide, with big, sharp claws.” 

Mikaela gave a whistle without moving her gaze from her work. “And did you at least kick their ass?”

“Who do you take me for!? All they’ll be good for now is scrap metal.”

“Wow you’re such a big, mean robot, Bee, yes you are!” He rolled his optics at her, but it was obvious he was trying to suppress a smile.

“Heh, well...” He really hated what he knew he had to say next, because it wasn’t only his outer hull that got bruised in that fight. But he swallowed his pride like the responsible team leader he was trying to be. “...I should probably be more careful next time. Especially when I’m away from my team.”

“Ooh, you have your own team now? Wow, Sparky, I almost find it hard to believe!”

“Tell me about it.” He shook his head. Sometimes it felt like these things happened overnight: one day he’s a rookie doing scouting missions, then the next he’s trying to keep his own team of rookies from getting into trouble.

“I said _almost_ , Bee. I always knew you’d take after Optimus one day, I just wasn’t sure _when_.”

“Ugh, I’m far, far away from being like Optimus. Bots, I probably gave him so many headaches with all the dumb stunts I pulled...”

Michaela put her hand on his. “Oh come on, Bee, you know Optimus loved you, dumb stunts and all. And he never would have expected you to be exactly like him anyway - he just wanted you to realize your full potential.”

He looked down at her with a soft smile. “Thanks, Miki.”

“Well, I _was_ your accomplice for many of those dumb stunts, so I should know.”

“Yeah, but Optimus never chewed you out the way he did me - on second thought: thanks for nothing, _Miki_.” He put on his best pretend pouty face.

“Your welcome, _Bumblebee!_ ”

“Actually, it’s _lieutenant_ Bumblebee now.” His pouty face now shifted to an expression meant to convey stern authority, or maybe more a caricature thereof.

“Goodness, I found a police officer I don’t hate being around. Well that’s a first!” 

They both finally burst out laughing. 10 years ago, neither of them could have even imagined having this conversation one day.

“I guess we all grow up eventually, huh? Speaking of which, you seem to have done well for yourself too, Miki.”

“Despite all odds, yes I have!” Pride swelled in her voice as she said it, and he was happy to see the self-doubt she harboured in her younger days finally gone. “The life of a ‘classic car restoration mechanic’ is a well paid one.” She took a short pause and he noticed a slight change in her expression, as if her eyes dimmed for just a moment. “Though I wish pops could have been around to see it.”

“Oh.” He realised what this meant. “I’m sorry, Mikaela.”

“Funny thing is,” she said through a half-hearted smile, still focused on what she was doing, “with all the stupid stuff he did in his life, it was the cigarettes that got him in the end. After he was gone, I decided to give this place a makeover. Though I didn’t have the heart to throw away the logo.”

She pointed at a large red ball with silver letters, about 3 feet across, stuffed onto one of the top shelves.

“Planet Pis… Wait, what!?”

“Oh, right,” Mikaela giggled, “it used to say ‘Planet Piston’, but some local rascals decided to peel a few letters off. Back when we had those around here - now all I meet are people who react with ‘I’m sorry’ when I tell them I do manual labor.”

She took out another metal shard and dropped it into the metal bowl with a loud ‘klang’.

“But overall I can’t complain. It’s just… Sometimes...” He could feel her hands pause as she struggled for words, though he had a good idea what was going through her head. Maybe it was too early in their reunion to discuss the implications (and especially the causes) of them parting ways, so he decided to interject before she had time to open that particular can of worms.

“Well if you ever get bored of restoring cars, I think you’re definitely ready for a career as an Autobot doctor.”

“Ha-ha well with you around, Sparky, I’m sure I’ll never be out of work.”

“Yeah, if you don’t mind re-assembling Decepticons once I’m done with them.” Bee flexed his arm in a way a human would to show off their muscles, and she laughed and gave him a playful nudge.

 _He had almost forgotten how easy it was to talk to her. Ratched once remarked they were like “two cogs in a clock”: they laughed at each other’s jokes, both loved goofing off, and had the same talent for finding trouble. It didn’t take long for him to go from being “Sam’s car” to mostly hanging out with her; Sam was always busy with college and frat-parties and other parts of student life he didn’t quite understand, which left him and Mikaela keeping each other company. She would tell him about the music she liked and her favourite cars, and he’d talk to her about all the little things that fascinated him about Earth - stuff the other Autobots were too unfamiliar with human culture to understand. And she was an_ _amazing_ _driver. He would often see human pairs engage in what they called 'dancing' and, while he was too big and bulky for the real thing, when the two of them were out driving he imagined that’s what dancing might feel like - two minds so attuned to each other that their bodies moved in perfect sync._

“Oof, I think I got all of them!” Mikaela jumped off the chair and started gathering her tools.

“Huh?”

“The shards.” She lifted the metal bowl to show him. “You ok there, Sparky?”

“Oh yeah, yeah. Just zoned out for a second.” He looked at all the shards in the bowl. “I owe you big time for this, Miki, I mean it!”

“A friend in need is a friend in deed.” She flashed him a smile as she walked over to her work desk. “Now let me find some WD-40 to finish the job...”

“Hey… While you’re over there, could you maybe skip that song?”

“What so...” At first she didn’t really understand what he had asked her to do, but then realized the radio was still playing music - specifically ‘Unchained Melody’ by The Righteous Brothers.

“Sure!” She pressed the ‘Next’ button and ‘Dancing in the Dark’ from Bruce Springsteen came on instead.

“If you have a problem with The Boss I’m afraid I’m gonna have to ask you to leave.”

“Nah, nah, that’s fine.” Bee started looking around the garage as if nothing special had happened, but Mikaela could sense he was keeping something from her. Despite all the things they talked about, there were still some ‘blind spots’ in Bee’s history on Earth: she knew the story of how he got here, but there was this period between losing and regaining his memory that he would always just gloss over. Initially she dismissed it as corrupt memory records, but as time went by and she got to know Bee better, she realized there was more to the story than he was letting on. Maybe it was time to make the leap from Autobot physiology to Autobot psychology.

She walked over to him with a spray can in hand, and set herself back down on the chair. If she was going to do this, she was going to have to tread carefully: if she pushed him too hard, he’d probably just clam up, and she didn’t want to make him uncomfortable either.

Focusing back on his gash, she went back to work and starred the conversation again as casually as she could.

“So… Did the Righteous Brothers diss Optimus right to your face, or is there a less fantastical story behind you not liking that song?”

 _Damn, maybe she knew him a little_ _too_ _well. But wasn’t that part of the reason he came? Because he missed how he could talk to her about anything? He’d never really met anybody who understood those complicated and awkward feelings like she did, but that didn’t mean he was ready to discuss the reason for these feelings just yet. Or… Primes, he actually wanted to tell her, didn’t he? It’s been almost 30 years, and maybe it was time to lay this particular ache to rest._

“It just… Reminds me of someone. Someone I haven’t seen in a while.”

“I was kind of hoping for the ‘two 60s crooners actually had a beef with Optimus’ plot twist, but I’m all ears. As always.”

 _Here goes nothing_. “When I first came to Earth, I met this girl. Charlie.”

“Mmm-hm.” Mikaela was doing her best to play it cool but she had literally moved to the edge of her seat.

“She helped me out a lot when I lost my memory, fixed some of my damaged systems, and kept me out of trouble. She was going through some stuff as well, family stuff, so we kind of had each other to lean on.”

“So where you, y’know, ‘special’ friends. Like Sam and I used to be?” 

“No! No, no, no, nothing like that! We were just... Regular friends. We didn’t rub our faces together or anything.” 

Mikaela decided not to go into the subtleties of kissing and why people liked it right now. “So what happened to her? Oh god, Bee, is she...”

“Nah, she’s fine. Great, actually! She just had her own life with her family, and better things to do than go around chasing Decepticons heh. So we parted ways. That’s all there is to it, really.”

That was not the entire truth and they both knew it, but Mikaela didn’t want to pick at an open wound - both his and _hers_ , because that’s exactly how she wanted to pretend their own parting went. Instead, she decided to try and give him some comforting words.

“Y’know, Bee...” She was really struggling how to phrase this without sounding too presumptuous. “We humans, em, we don’t have a lot of time to do everything we want to do. Not like your kind. So with us it’s all about timing. And sometimes you meet the right person but it’s not the right time and things don’t work out. That’s just life.”

He gave her a soft look meant as a ‘thank you’ and she responded with a ‘you’re welcome’ nod.

 _Well if they’re already sharing, he might as well ask_. “Is that what happened with you and Sam?”

“Ha-ha nooo.” She relaxed her shoulders as she pushed herself back into the chair. “Our problem was that Sam didn’t really love me - I mean, I’m sure he _thought_ he did, but once you learn to love yourself you start to see the difference. And you won’t settle for anything less.”

There was no bitterness or sadness in her voice, just a calmness he hadn’t really heard before. Maybe the short time they had on Earth also meant humans learned to let go faster than he did.

“Sam was a good kid.” She threw the spray can into the air and, after it did a few flips, caught it without much trouble. “Couldn’t drive for shit, tho.”

“...”

“Don’t give me that, Bee, you know I’m right!”

“...Primes, he was really helpless, wasn’t he? He kept hitting the pedals so much, you’d think he was riding a bicycle.”

Mikaela laughed so hard at that comment, she almost fell off her chair. “Aww poor lil’ Camaro, almost getting your gear shift torn out!”

They both fell into a comfortable silence for a few moments before Mikaela decided it was time to call it a night.

“Alright, Bee, you’re all patched up so I think it’s about time we both went for a recharge.”

She turned off the radio and put a few stray tools away while Bee transformed into a Camaro - if he was going to spend the night in a garage, he might as well look the part.

“Good night, sheriff Sparky.”

He was just about to remind her that he was actually a ‘lieutenant’, but then he realized she hadn’t made a mistake - she still remembered how much he liked cowboy movies.

“Night, ma’am.” Despite doing his best grizzled voice, a few tones of glee at being called ‘sheriff’ still shone through. 

With that she turned off the lights and went back to her apartment.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>   * I'm trying really hard not to turn this into a song fic
>   * and failing
>   * well at least I'm choosing songs with lyrics relevant to the plot
>   * "unchained melody" is here because that's the song Charlie plays in the movie for Bee
>   * using so much font styling that you run out of ways to do emphasis
>   * if you haven't seen RID (2015), Bee is a lieutenant there with his own team - that's what I'm referencing here
>   * Bee still transforms into a Chevy Camaro cuz I'm a basic b*tch who likes muscle cars
> 



	3. Making Up For Lost Time

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "The more things change, the more they stay the same" and our two goofballs realize not much has changed between them.

The next morning they went looking for Bee’s Decepticon - it had disappeared in a hilly area, about an hour’s drive away from the city, where there was little to be found except a few truck stops and gas stations with adjoining parking lots. Bee had already scanned local police comms for any mentions of an abandoned car but there were no reports since last night. The terrain was largely rocky and unsuitable for off-road driving, and any foliage that could be found was too scarce to hide a big vehicle, let alone a giant robot.

By Bee’s assessment the Decepticon was unlikely to have gotten far and was almost certainly in stasislock. So there wasn’t really a sense of urgency about: they took their time driving around, trying to bring each other up to speed with what had happened in the past 10 years. It was a crisp autumn day with clear skies, the kind you can only get after it had been raining cats and dogs the previous night. Mikaela was reminded of the drives they would take together, after Sam returned to college at the end of summer holidays, when they were trying to take advantage of the sunny days before they became too short and too few. They would blast the radio, maybe dabble in a bit of dare-devil driving if the roads were empty, and usually end up on one of the hills that had a nice view of the city.

By the time it had started getting dark, there was still no sign of the Decepticon and Bee was beginning to worry. They pulled over at a somewhat secluded spot where Bee could transform and they could stop to think.

“So no police reports? Nothing?”

“None so far.” Bee shook his head in disappointment.

“We’ve checked every parking lot in the area.” Mikaela looked into the distance. “And there’s nothing else for miles in that direction.”

They both fell quiet while retracing their steps in their minds and trying to think of anything they might have missed.

“Wait, Bee, what was the model of the vehicle again?”

“Huh?” It took him a moment to come back from his thoughts. “Oh! It was a GMC Sierra.”

“Hm.”

“What is it, Miki?”

“Well, the Sierra is kind of a dud.” The confused look on Bee’s face told her she should explain. “That means it’s a shitty car. So what I’m thinking, you find a banged up shitty car at the side of the road, no license plates, with no signs of foul play...”

“Junk!” Bee’s face lit up. “You’re gonna think somebody abandoned a piece of junk!”

“Yup! And I doubt the local boys in blue would bother writing that one up - they probably just had it towed and went back to Benny’s for coffee.” She took out her phone and started searching the contact list. “And I have a good idea who they called to tow it away!”

* * *

“Mh... mmm... Oh nooo haha!”

Mikaela had been talking away on her phone or the last 15 minutes, while Bee dragged his feet through the dirt like a bored kid.

“Ok, well thanks for that, Moe! And tell Angie to keep away from the buffet next time haha!”

She finally hung up.

“And!? Does he have the car!?” Bee couldn’t hold it in any longer.

“You gotta learn some patience, Sparky! But yes, the car is there; the cops called Moe to tow it away and it’s currently sitting in his yard.”

“Right!” Bee started laying out his plan. “So we wait until it’s fully dark, then we can go down to the yard. I’m not sure what kind of alarm system he has, but shouldn’t be too hard to get around. Though the car is probably not in driving order, so if we want to take it we’ll have to...”

He was deep in thought when he noticed Mikaela giving him a puzzled look.

“Miki?”

“Em… Moe said I can have the car for 200 dollars. A banged up Sierra isn’t even good for spare parts so he’d be glad to get rid of it. We can pick it up first thing tomorrow.”

“Oh...” Bee looked somewhat disappointed.

Mikaela crossed her arms. “What’s wrong now? Out with it, Bee!”

“Well...” Bee was looking at the floor and kicking the dirt around. “... I was kind of hoping we’d get to see some action. Like the old days.”

She burst out laughing. “I swear, Sparky, you haven’t changed a bit! Who knows, maybe if you’re lucky it’ll transform while we’re towing it away and punch you in the face! Imagine the excitement!”

“Yeah, yeah, yeah...” He was kind of annoyed at himself for making that comment - he really should be glad they managed to get their hands on the car so easily after he lost it the first time.

Mikaela’s laughter had died down, and she wiped away a few stray tears from her eyes. When she finally looked up at him, she realized what lay on the horizon just behind him.

Serpent Hill.

* * *

_ Serpent Hill obviously wasn’t its real name, but it was definitely fitting: the hill had a steep, meandering road leading to the top, with hairpin turns and non-existing off road barriers. The whole thing resembled a snake winding down the side of the hill and soon the original name was forgotten in favour of the new, more ominous one. Nobody went up Serpent Hill unless they really had to, and the bottom of the hill was littered with stray car parts that were too difficult to retrieve - a grim reminder of the long way down that awaited any vehicle that didn’t manage to stay on the road. _

_ And it was near Serpent Hill that Bumblebee and Mikaela ran into a Decepticon that fateful night almost 10 years ago. _

_ “Hold on!!!” _

_ Mikaela braced herself as a black Dodge Charger slammed into them from behind. Bee was trying his best to outrun him, but the Charger was showing no signs of giving up. Luckily the impact wasn’t strong enough to run them off the road, but they couldn’t keep this up forever. _

_ “Bee, we got to get off this road!” _

_ “I’m very open to suggestions right now!” _

_ Mikaela was frantically looking around for anything that could work to their advantage. _

_ “Serpent Hill, Bee! To our right!” _

_ “You gotta be kidding me.” Bee was a good driver, but unfortunately humans didn’t make 3D maps, and the 2D ones they had were completely useless for a road like that. _

_ “No, I know the way!” _

_ “I guess we don’t have much choice.” Bee pushed the steering wheel towards Mikaela. “You navigate, and I’ll keep us from flying off the road!” _

_ She quickly grabbed the wheel and they took the next right turn to Serpent Hill. The Decepticon followed close by. Luckily there were no lights to be seen up the hill, meaning at least they didn’t have to worry about other cars. Just as the Charger was gaining on them, they entered a sharp curve that forced the Decepticon to slow down so as to avoid going off the road. _

_ “Ha, how do you like that, buddy!?” Mikaela took a small moment to gloat, but there was more trouble ahead of them. “Ok Bee, after the next two turns, I need you to speed up like we’ve hit a straight stretch of road.” _

_ “Then what?” _

_ “Then we say our prayers and do some serious drifting!” _

_ After making the turns, they hit a stretch of road that seemed to be less winding. Bee picked up speed, and the Charger decided to catch up. It was gaining on them fast and, just when it seemed like it was going to ram them again, they went into a sudden hairpin bend. They were going so fast that they had to drift to make it through the almost 180-degree turn, and Bee could feel soil eroding behind his back wheels. Unfortunately for the Decepticon, it was not prepared to make the turn and went flying off the road and down the hill. Bee stopped as soon as he could and, when Mikaela got out, quickly transformed into his robot form. They both ran to the edge of the road, where they saw the Decepticon - still in vehicle mode - lying at the foot of the hill and impaled on a broken tree trunk. Its headlights flickered a few times and the car was swallowed by darkness as the Decepticon went offline. _

_ “We got him! We got him!!!” Mikaela could barely contain her excitement, obviously going through an adrenaline rush. _

_ “Mess with the best, crash like the rest!” Bee stretched out his hand to a height where Mikaela could give him a low five, which she quickly dished out. _

_ “Auuu!” Mikaela’s adrenaline rush showed no signs of ebbing. “Miki and Sparky: Decepticon-hunting dream team! We should do this for a living - driving down the open roads, kicking Decepticon butt, just you and me! What do you say?” _

_ When she turned back at Bee, she saw him awkwardly staring at the ground. She knew that look - it was the look Bee had when what he wanted to do and what he needed to do were not the same thing. Fearing she might have strayed into thorny territory, she decided to play the whole thing off as a joke. _

_ “Can you imagine that, Sparky? That would be one hell of a reality show! ‘Cops’ have nothing on us haha!” Bee gave a half-hearted laugh, pretending he took it as a joke all along, and Mikaela felt her heart sink. It was at that moment that she realized how much she had actually meant what she said: how much she wanted to get away from here, away from Sam’s stuck up college friends, from customers calling her ‘sweetheart’, from the has-beens who gathered at her dad’s workshop to talk about the glory days. Just him and her. Together. _

_ But she knew it was not going to happen. _

_ “Guess it’s time to call Sector 7 to clean up this mess.” She gave him a wink, and he smiled back at her. _

_ Bee transformed back into a Camaro and opened the driver’s door. “Let’s go home, Miki.” _

_ “Yeah, home...” _

_ And though no more awkward conversations happened on the way home, it was obvious their relationship had changed. That night they realized they weren’t around each other constantly just because they had a mutual friend - in reality, it was Sam who was the odd man out. No matter how much they wanted to pretend nothing happened, there was no going back to the way things were. _

_ After that, their contact rapidly tapered off and it was not long before she left Sam for good. Bumblebee was afraid that he was repeating the same situation as with Charlie, and all that could come out of it was heartbreak. As for Mikaela, she told herself things were getting ‘weird’ and left it at that. Had she known herself then as she did now, she would have realised the truth - she was not scared of liking an alien robot so much as she was terrified of what it meant if he liked her back. She accepted there were two types of (human) men: those who thought she was hot but hated her personality, and those who thought she was hot but didn’t mind her personality. But to admit Bumblebee could like her beyond simple friendship, she would have to accept that she had something to offer to somebody who probably couldn’t understand her physical appeal beyond symmetry - and her confidence just wasn’t there yet.  _

* * *

“Hey Sparky, if you’re in the mood for action, how about we take on Serpent Hill again?”

His face initially lit up, but she could see his hesitation as the full memory of that night came back.

“It rained yesterday, I don’t think...”

Oh well, she would have to play dirty. “What’s the matter? Don’t think you’re up to it anymore?”

He quickly realised where this was going and his face took on a mischievous expression.

“I’m not up to it!? I’m not the one who’s spent the last 10 years driving a pickup truck.”

“Hey, that’s only for work!” Oh, it was  _ on _ . “Besides, I’ll have you know I have another car.”

She took a playful step back, as if contemplating walking away, and he came one step forward with his chest puffed out and a big, cheeky smile. She had him right where she wanted him.

“Oh really?”

“Yeah. It’s a Ford Mustang.”

“Lame.”

“He’s red with white racing stripes.” She put on her best lovestruck face and batted her eyelashes several times.

“ _ He _ sounds like a loser.”

“ _ He _ doesn't complain when I want to go up Serpent Hill.”

“That’s it!” Bee transformed back into a Camaro and opened the driver’s door towards her.

“Get in, we’re going up that damn hill!”

Mikaela ran into the car with a smug smile. As she put her hands on the steering wheel, she could feel the low rumble of the engine getting ready to start. She buckled her seat belt and off they went, with Serpent Hill growing closer with every second. Bee started fiddling with the radio trying to find an appropriate soundtrack to their drive, but Mikaela turned the volume down to zero - she wanted to get the full experience, both sight and  _ sound _ . He understood what she had meant by it and turned off the radio. There wasn’t a single light all the way to the top and they had the road all to themselves. The asphalt was dry enough to allow for speeding, but the odd puddle provided a satisfying splash as they drifted through the bends. They reached the top in no time flat, and were greeted with a view of the city glistening beneath them.

“I forgot how nice the view is from here,” Bee remarked as he turned to go back down hill again. 

“I’m surprised you can see anything with that much grime on you haha!” Mikaela was right, they drove though enough puddles on their way up to leave him looking pretty filthy. “But since you were such a nice boy and let me drive you all the way up, how about a nice relaxing  _ bath _ ?”

That could only mean one thing: automatic car wash tunnel, one of the greatest achievements of human civilization as far as Bee was concerned. But as much as he loved the car wash, getting into one without an actual human around to pay was almost impossible. He gave a happy little honk and hurried down the hill.

“Haha, I’ll take that as a yes!”

Soon they reached the foot of the hill and were back on the main road.

“Would madame like to pick up some fries and a shake at the drive-in before we reach the car spa?”

“Awww, Sparky, you know me so well!” Mikaela gave his dashboard a little pat. “And afterwards you gotta teach me how to ski.”

Bee changed lanes to take the exit leading back to the city. “It’s a date!”

* * *

It was dawning by the time they rolled back into Mikaela’s garage.

“That was sooo much fun!” Mikaela got out of the Camaro and took a good stretch, while Bee transformed behind her.

“Look how shiny I am!” Bee was admiring his reflection in his forearm plating.

“I swear, Sparky, I could almost hear you purr as we went through the car wash.”

“Nooo… Well, maybe a little.”

They both giggled at that when Mikaela noticed music coming from the radio - she forgot to turn it off before they left in the morning, and now the sounds of Bryan Adams singing about how he’s coming ‘back to yooou’ were filling up the workshop. 

“Ugh, you’d think I was made of money,” Mikaela mumbled to herself as she walked over to turn off the radio. Unfortunately, on her way there, she tripped on a thick power cable lying on the floor and stumbled forward. She grabbed onto the large metal shelving unit to stop herself from falling, which rattled for a few seconds from the impact.

“Damn, my brain really doesn’t work in the morning, does it?”

“Watch out!”

As soon as she crouched down to put away the cable, Bee appeared above her, seemingly shielding her from something she couldn’t see.

What Mikaela didn’t know was that when she grabbed that shelf, she also dislodged the “Planet Piston” ball from the top. And what Bee didn’t know…

He braced himself for impact which never came. Instead, something just lightly grazed his back, before mockingly rolling away.

“Huh?” He looked over his shoulder to see the ball rocking gently in the corner, and then down to Mikaela who was obviously trying to stifle a laugh.

“Um, Bee… It’s made... from foam… It’s… not very heavy...”

“Can you please just start laughing so we can get this over with?”

With that she burst out laughing so hard she had to grab her stomach. Bee was still above her on all fours, rolling his optics both at her and at himself.

“You done yet?”

“C’mon Bee… I’m just...” Mikaela was still giggling so much it sounded like she was hiccuping. She finally managed to sit up so she was face to face with him. “Awww, Bee, don’t be upset, you saved me from a big ball of styrofoam! My  _ hero! _ ”

In the spur of the moment, she threw her arms around his neck and gave him a kiss. It took a few moments for her to realize what she was doing, and she pulled away in shock.

“Oh god, Bee, I’m so sorry I wasn’t think...” But before she could finish what she was saying, he quickly leaned forward and pushed their faces back together.

It was the weirdest kiss Mikaela had ever experienced, but certainly not the worst. As for Bee, he still wasn’t entirely sure what he was supposed to be doing or feeling, but her body heat was definitely making his internal fans run a few herzes faster. They separated after a few seconds, with their faces still a few inches from each other.

“I’m so sorry I couldn’t stay with you, Miki.”

“That’s ok - it just wasn’t the right time. That’s life for ya, Bee.”

He gave her a cheeky grin. “Is the time now better?”

“The time is  _ perfect _ .” She snuggled against his neck like a cat getting ready to take a long awaited nap. It had been an eventful night (to say the least) and she could feel herself getting sleepy.

“Speaking of time, you realize the sun is already out?”

“Oh, dang!” Mikaela noticed her workshop was now filled with long beams from the low sun peeking through the windows. “I have a client coming in the afternoon to discuss a restoration ugh!”

“You should be in bed, young lady, not driving around and kissing strange alien robots.” He gave her a little peck on the forehead - maybe he was getting the hang of this kissing thing after all.

“Ha, you really are turning into Optimus, Sparky.” She got up and dusted herself off. “Hey, got any room in there for a tired girl too lazy to climb into bed?”

“Always.” Bee transformed into a car and Mikaela grabbed a spare blanket she kept in the workshop and nuzzled herself into the back seat. Her back will probably give her hell for this later, but she didn’t care. After all those years spent apart, she just wanted to be around him as much as possible. 

“Hey, Sparky?”

“Yeah?”

“I’m really glad you came back.”

“I’m just glad I got my timing right.”

“See, you’re getting the hang of it!” 

And with that she drifted off to sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Phew finished! I never know how to end these things but I got there in the end. If you liked this fic leave me a kudos and a comment, it would make me very happy! 🥰 I accept emoji comments as well 😉
> 
> Btw, "skiing" is the car stunt where the car drives only on two wheels. And I have no idea what the proper police procedure is for finding an abandoned car but let's face it this is not what you're here for.


End file.
